teresa and kids: on our own

Then...

In early March 2006, my kids and I decided we needed a grand adventure. I was finally finishing my bachelor's degree in English and would likely not have an open opportunity again for quite some time. So we sold what we could, donated and packed up the remaining bits of our former home and stashed it away in their grandparent's barn. We grabbed our suitcases and headed off for a nearly seven-month excursion to Vietnam. We spent several months working in two orphanages in central Vietnam before heading up to Hanoi to look for English-teaching work. We lived in the hotel for a month before landing a job at Hong Duc University in Thanh Hoa. After three months, it was time for the kids to come back to family and friends (for a while) and we made our way from Hanoi to Portland via Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Vancouver.

And now...

We're still keeping up with the blog and have put together a calendar using just a few of the pictures from our travels. They're $9.99 each, including shipping and the proceeds will benefit the Tam Ky Kids project (see below).

We are continuing with our Tam Ky Kids Project that began with our volunteer work and has continued during and after our time in Vietnam. Several people and companies have been kind enough to donate clothing for the orphans at the Home of Affection and the Quang Nam Baby Orphanage, both in Tam Ky. Now we're working on getting them to the kids. In an effort to pay the shipping fees, we're offering some stuff on ebay and our desk calendar (above) For more information, contact us at vietnamvolunteer [at] mac [dot] com.

I'm continuing to work on our sister site: VietnamWithKids.com for families traveling to Vietnam.